The Best Heat Press Reviews of 2017

With such a large variety of top rated heat press machines on the market these days, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to decide which one is the right machine for your home or heat press business needs. We’ve narrowed our selection down from the top 10 heat press machines to just a few of the very best for you to choose from. If you’ve been wondering where to buy a heat press machine, well look no further, just scroll down for the best heat press machine reviews for 2017!

Create high quality professional looking designs and lettering on your garments, mugs or tiles by using a hot press machine. Some of you are hobbyists and some are running a small business; either way, we are happy to tell you it is EASY to use a heat press machine. You don’t have to be tech savvy at all. Whether you are looking for the best heat press machine for home use or the best heat press machine for small business, you’ve come to the right spot because we will help you find the best heat press machine 2017 has on the market.

What is a Heat Press and Why do I Need one?

A heat press is used to transfer vinyl designs or lettering onto fabrics using heat and pressure. It’s similar to an iron, but is larger and will have a steady heat and pressure applied to the vinyl as it meets the fabric. This steady pressure and heat application will ensure a polished and professional looking final product. You can imagine if you were to try to heat transfer a large design or lettering onto a shirt with a small iron, that it may not all transfer very evenly, essentially ruining the fabric and the vinyl design. So for less waste and errors, a heat press is a MUST HAVE in the heat transfer vinyl world!

There are three main types of heat presses. We will have a look at the difference between draw vs clamshell vs swing away heat presses. The main difference is how the hot plates on each machine come together and then separate. We will compare the two most common presses, which are the swing away and the clamshell.

Here is a helpful video describing the difference between the clamshell and swing away heat presses.

Swing-Away Heat Press

The Swing Away Heat Press does just what it says. The top platen of the machine actually swings away from the platen on the bottom before and after pressing.

One advantage of this type of heat press is that visually you can see the entire area of what you are pressing with the top plate out of the way. Coming from directly above, the top plate applies an even pressure at all times during the process. Another plus for the swing away is it allows for pressing on thicker materials, since the top and bottom plates completely separate.

The swing away does however have a larger footprint, due to it’s top plate’s swinging feature. So typically this type of press is used in a business location, where there is more space for the machine to operate. This machine requires a few more steps and additional transfer application time in comparison to the Clamshell press.

We also cannot forget the price difference between these two. The swing-aways are more of an investment, but well worth the money if this is your daily business and you are in need of a more industrial heat press machine such as the swing away.

The Clamshell heat press acts just as it’s name describes with a hinge type opening and closing method – imagine an open clamshell with a pearl inside. 🙂

This is a great press for beginners and is very simple to learn and operate. It’s also perfect for using with thinner materials like T shirts. It takes up less space and is lighter and therefore a more portable heat machine. It does have a bit of a blind spot when pressing due to the hinge setup, but this is definitely the best heat press machine for small businesses.

The Clamshell press price range is definitely in the budget for a home or small business, and this type is the best heat press under $200.

Heat Transfer is basically a process in which a design or lettering is printed onto transfer paper. Then this paper is heated with either an iron or heat press machine and pressed onto your product (shirt, bag, hat etc). Sublimation is different because it turns into a gas when heated and then infuses itself into products as long as they are polyester coated (tiles, mugs, plates etc).

So, think about what you would be using your heat press on, and if you won’t be using it for products with a hard surface like plates, mugs, and tiles, then you won’t need to spend any extra money on a combination machine that also does sublimation printing. Save your cash and just get the heat transfer machine for garments.